7 ms·

In fact, the medical licensing exams and board exams are too lenient. The general quality of people going to medical school in the US has been dropping for a ge

In fact, the medical licensing exams and board exams are too lenient. The general quality of people going to medical school in the US has been dropping for a generation. The standards are sliding, to our detriment.

carbocation 15y ago
I'd be quite interested to see evidence to support this assertion. Or is it just generally the case that everyone sees Osler's days as medicine's primetime, with a long slide since then?
- roentgen 15y ago
  I don't have any hard evidence, but I insist that it is true. Bright and determined baby-boomers became doctors and lawyers and accountants. Today smart and determined people aren't even going to college. The HN demographic is a perfect example of this.
  - carbocation 15y ago
    Intuitively, I think I get a different sense of the HN demographic. It's one thing to say that the brightest aren't going to medical school. It's another thing to say that the best and brightest aren't even going to college. I might argue that going to college is no longer necessary for the purpose of learning, because the material is so widely available. Even though I think that's true (for some fields), I still wouldn't advise people not to go to college because of the signaling problem (which one then has to sidestep by starting their own business or by contributing impressively in open source, etc). I get hyperbole for the purpose of making a point, but if you go too far, you come off sounding a bit incredible.
    - roentgen 15y ago
      Have you seen a typical medical school class recently? The people getting in these days is almost shocking. I have a hard time believing that qualified people are being shut out of admission.
      - carbocation 15y ago
        Yes? I mean, I am a medical student, and I'm routinely impressed by my peers. But I'm not trying to claim that my peers are better than their predecessors. I'm just doubting your assertion that medical students now are worse than before. The null hypothesis certainly is that things are the same as they always were.

carbocation 15y ago

I'd be quite interested to see evidence to support this assertion. Or is it just generally the case that everyone sees Osler's days as medicine's primetime, with a long slide since then?

roentgen 15y ago
I don't have any hard evidence, but I insist that it is true. Bright and determined baby-boomers became doctors and lawyers and accountants. Today smart and determined people aren't even going to college. The HN demographic is a perfect example of this.
- carbocation 15y ago
  Intuitively, I think I get a different sense of the HN demographic. It's one thing to say that the brightest aren't going to medical school. It's another thing to say that the best and brightest aren't even going to college. I might argue that going to college is no longer necessary for the purpose of learning, because the material is so widely available. Even though I think that's true (for some fields), I still wouldn't advise people not to go to college because of the signaling problem (which one then has to sidestep by starting their own business or by contributing impressively in open source, etc). I get hyperbole for the purpose of making a point, but if you go too far, you come off sounding a bit incredible.
  - roentgen 15y ago
    Have you seen a typical medical school class recently? The people getting in these days is almost shocking. I have a hard time believing that qualified people are being shut out of admission.
    - carbocation 15y ago
      Yes? I mean, I am a medical student, and I'm routinely impressed by my peers. But I'm not trying to claim that my peers are better than their predecessors. I'm just doubting your assertion that medical students now are worse than before. The null hypothesis certainly is that things are the same as they always were.